Man shot dead in courtyard of Vilnius apartment block; shooter detained

A man was shot dead on the evening of 9 October in the courtyard of an apartment block on Savanoriu Avenue in Vilnius, the capital of Lithuania. Many witnesses saw the incident. Police detained the shooter at the scene and a criminal case for murder has been opened. According to the Lithuanian outlet Lrytas.lt, it is still not fully clear what exactly happened.

The call and the shots

At about 18:27 on 9 October, a man phoned the emergency number and said that two armed strangers were attacking him on Savanoriu Avenue and that he was trying to run away. Shortly afterwards, a report came in that shots had been fired and a person had been wounded.

A large police presence and emergency medical teams rushed to the scene. They could no longer help the wounded man, and his death was confirmed. Police established that the dead man was born in 1981. According to preliminary information, he died from a gunshot wound to the chest, with the bullet striking the heart.

The detained man

A man born in 1973, who fired the shots, was detained at the scene. His initial account is that he fired in self-defence during a conflict. Police immediately confiscated his legally held firearm.

What remains unknown

It is unclear how many shots were fired, as witnesses give different numbers. Rumours also spread at the scene that the man had been shot several times in the back, but this has not been confirmed. The exact number of bullets and where they hit will be known only after a forensic medical examination.

The victim's wife went into shock and needed medical help. Later their son arrived and took his mother from the care of the medics.

Police are questioning witnesses and clarifying the circumstances. Under Lithuania's Criminal Code, a person who kills another human being faces imprisonment of between seven and fifteen years.